Asia Cup: Jatinder Singh urges India’s support to bridge gap for Oman cricket
Abu Dhabi: Oman captain Jatinder Singh has appealed to India and other major cricketing nations to extend greater support to Associate sides, after his team gave a strong account of themselves in their Asia Cup debut campaign.
Oman, who were playing India for the first time in any format, pushed the world’s No. 1 T20I side hard in Abu Dhabi before eventually going down by 21 runs.
“Well, I think if we can get India coming forward, you know, letting us make their home our home… If we can train there, go to the NCAs, train our skill, mental aspects, the fitness part, and play a lot of T20s with the club teams and Ranji teams, I think that will definitely help us and that will fill the gap,” Jatinder said after the match.
While Oman have appeared in World Cups before, this was their first taste of the Asia Cup, a tournament with a rich legacy dating back to the 1980s. Jatinder said the exposure was invaluable, while calling for more opportunities for Associate nations to rub shoulders with the game’s elite.
“We are an Associate nation. The reality is we do not get to play with the Test playing nations,” he said. “So we are so, so fortunate that we got this platform to come and play here. And I am so grateful and so proud of the boys, the way they showed up the character in the current situation.
“So I think these kinds of tournaments, if it happens time and again, I think more number of Associates should be included so that they can rub shoulders and get close, fill the gap for what we have between the Test playing nations and the Associate nations.”
Jatinder also pointed out how Omani players are often overlooked in franchise leagues, denying them opportunities to grow through experience. “Oman players are no less to anyone. We do not get that platform to play in franchise cricket. I think if they get the platform to play in such tournaments, the boys will really benefit from it and they can bring a lot of experience back to Oman and they can train the boys accordingly.”
Reflecting on his team’s spirited performance against India, Jatinder said he was proud of the character shown under pressure. “Of course in a game of T20 anything can happen. Any team can beat any team. So I feel the boys had their plans on and they were somewhere there. But I think overall I am so, so pleased with the performance of each and every individual, if you start with the bowling and fielding and batting respectively. I think what we lacked initially was the partnerships which I think showed great character in the crunch game.”
With Oman set to host the T20 World Cup qualifiers, Jatinder said the team was eager to build on this experience. “So I am so happy and proud of the unit. And now we have T20 World Cup qualifiers happening in Oman. So the boys are ready to roar.”